How Obama almost blew it

US President Barack Obama has dramatically clinched a second term - but the reality is, he came close to blowing it. Here's ten things that nearly cost him the election.

1. His sleepy first debate.

President Obama royally stuffed up the first presidential debate with Mitt Romney. Commentators joked he'd taken painkillers that made him drowsy, and Al Gore attributed his poor performance to the altitude in Denver, Colorado, where the debate was held. Obama later joked that he'd snoozed through the whole debate. Polls then surged for Romney, leaving Obama in his tracks.

2. Not taking his debate preparation seriously.

Commentators attributed Obama's poor performance to his blaze attitude to preparing for the debates. He told reporters that it was a "drag" and ate into the time he’d set aside to practice with aides by visiting big landmarks like the Hoover Dam. No one likes to study, but he needed to for this test.

3. A wooden performance

To give you a sense of how much of a train-wreck the president was at that debate, The New Yorker magazine compared his performance to that of Clint Eastwood's famous wooden chair at the Republican National Convention. See below.

New Yorker coverSource:news.com.au

4. Failing to outline the specifics of his agenda into the future. Obama talked much about building on what he'd already achieved in the Oval Office. But only flickers of his real plans were revealed, and they only came to light after a newspaper insisted an off-the-record conversation they had with the president should be published. In the interview, Obama talked about reaching a deal with his Republican opponents on the budget and introducing an immigration reform package.

5. Going on the attack. Barack Obama was the candidate of hope and change in 2008. It was a mantle he only embraced late in the campaign. This time around, most of his campaign was devoted to tearing down Mitt Romney. The attacks certainly had some success, driving up Romney's negative approval ratings in the polls. But it let opponents accuse him of failing to change the raucous political tone in the country.

Bill ClintonSource:news.com.au

6. Leaning on Bill Clinton too much.

The former president is extremely popular with American voters for his savvy fiscal management in the 1990s. Clinton had a starring role at campaign rallies and at the Democratic Convention. But Obama has also copped criticism that he relied on Clinton as a crutch. Obama's own prime time speech at the Democratic Convention was overshadowed by Clinton's impressive performance.

7. "You didn't build that". Obama was talking about how people aren't successful on their own - they need help. He said: "If you were successful, somebody on the line gave you some help ... Somebody invested in roads and bridges. You didn't build that". Republicans clambered on the remark to indicate that he didn't care about small businesses. Obama said they had taken him out of context.

8. "Moving forward". Yes, Julia Gillard's 2010 Slogan of the Year was adopted by the president - with a few differences. He dropped the "moving" bit and added an exclamation mark. Surely the man behind "Yes We Can" can do better.

9. Not clearly explaining what happened in Benghazi. The US ambassador in the Libyan city and three other diplomatic staff were killed in a terrorist attack on the embassy. The White House was plagued with allegations of a cover-up. The Republicans took advantage of it to muddy the president's message of having conducted a successful foreign policy.

10. Who didn’t let the dogs out?We've got to ask: Where was Bo, the much-loved presidential pooch, on the campaign trail this time around? News.com.au can only assume the animal-lover voter turnout plumetted this election.

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